


the Most

by orphan_account



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Fluff and Angst, Hospitalization, M/M, Temporary Amnesia, bc guess who wrote it at 3 am last night, sort of, this is def Full Of Mistakes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-28
Updated: 2016-05-28
Packaged: 2018-07-10 18:31:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6999679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Raphael is unconscious in a hospital bed; Simon and Magnus make the doctors and nurses want to tear their hair out. Raphael wakes up and the cute temporary amnesia thing happens</p>
            </blockquote>





	the Most

**Author's Note:**

> read to _Weathered- **Jack Garratt** ___for max suffering

Simon's shoes make squeaking noises that echo in the hall, and his fidgety pacing is driving Magnus up the wall.

"Solomon, for the love of God, please sit down before I march into the next room and steal a tranquilizer shot to knock you out."

Simon stays silent; his ceaseless back and forth not even slowing for a second.

Magnus speaks again, softer this time, "They said he'll be fine, remember?"

At this, Simon's shoulders scrunch to heave a sigh, and he folds himself into the seat next to Magnus. He throws his head into his hands, and Magnus instantly regrets having suggested for him to stop moving--- now he looks like he's falling apart.

Magnus thinks that if he touches Simon he'll either shatter or explode, so he thinks better than to try and comfort him. He glances at his watch. It's 3:57 AM, but he doesn't suggest coming back tomorrow; he knows what it's like to love someone. 

To be fair, it isn't like he's not worried either. Raphael is one of his closest friends, almost like a brother with their precarious balance of love and animosity. They'd both been ready to beat down the drunk driver responsible: Magnus with a crushing lawsuit, and Simon with his fists. But the hospital had called again, so they'd immediately dropped whatever was at hand, slammed themselves into the nearest cab, and readily accepted that they were going to sleep in plastic chairs and drink shitty coffee for a while. 

"I just, I don't know what I would do if he was gone, you know?" Simon's voice is small and cracking, but these are the first words Magnus has heard him say in days.

"Yeah," Magnus says, "I know."

But there was nothing they could do; no amount of lashing out or loud tears would quicken Raphael's recovery. They can only wait. So they continue sitting in silence, staring at the chewed-gum-green walls in front of them. They wait.

* * *

He finally wakes up on a Sunday. His blinking eyelashes send the nurse on shift racing to the door, whose swinging arms at the doorway summons a jaded doctor and several other nurses clad in scrubs, each hurriedly pulling back curtains and pouring water and fluffing extra pillows. Their scrambling efforts to make him as comfortable as possible (due to his large, frequent donations to the hospital) are then brought to an abrupt stop with a single word that slips out of his mouth: _Simon_. Even with his eyes struggling to stay open and tongue clumsy from days of slumber, the name was clear enough in certainty to give pause to the entire room full of buzzing staff. 

It is only then that someone remembers the two figures slumped over on visitor chairs outside; Careful Silence and Frantic Hands, both sporting tired frowns from when they'd been shooed away earlier. An unfortunate candidate eventually walks out, carefully reassures them that Raphael is awake and well, then has to meekly hold up both palms to block them from bulldozing their way into the room. They manage to keep from breaking down the door, but neither of them sit down after that.

* * *

Raphael can't help but cough, bending over as his throat contracts, hacking up the empty air in his throat. He holds up his right arm in an attempt to block the yellow light streaming through his windows, barely opening his eyes as he tries to sit up. He looks down to see the IV tubes sticking out from his hands, and resists the urge to tear them out. A frenzy of purple whirls in, lets down the blessed curtains and is saying something to him that he doesn't hear. He looks up to see a man with tear-streaked cheeks and alarmingly dark under-eye circles rushing towards the bed, followed by another man wearing an impossible orange sweater.

Raphael doesn't know what time it is or where they are, but he vaguely remembers a shattered windshield and blaring sirens and darkness. Everything is too bright and too blank, but looking at the dark pupils of the fast approaching man seems to make his headache subside.

"Raphael?"

Oh. That's his name. How does this man know his name?

"They, they had to operate on you, and your ribs were broken, and I was so worried, oh my god," the man rambles with his face very close, and his too-cold hands grasp Raphael's pale ones. "But thank god you're awake, I swear to god, if you ever do that again, I'll---"

"Who," Raphael chokes out with crinkled eyebrows, and wets his lips to try again, "who are you?"

The man's face looks stricken, and somehow Raphael wishes he hadn't said anything. 

"Oh. You don't, ah, don't remember me." He seems to be wilting away as he speaks, pulling away and into himself. The man behind him looks abhorrent and lost.

"Are you an angel?" Raphael decides that this is the most likely explanation. There's a pounding in his head that makes it hard to focus, though.

The man, however, just stares back at him, confused.

"What?"

"Did I die in a car crash and end up in heaven?"

"Wha-what? No, you're alive, at St. Vincent's west ward, and I'm," he pauses, looking suddenly hesitant, "I'm Simon."

"Oh. Ok, _Simon_ , are you a hallucination side effect of the drugs they gave me?"

The other man looks amused, but Simon is incredulous.

"No, I'm definitely very real, but _you_ are clearly still not off those drugs they gave you."

Raphael should feel offended--- he's quite sane and aware, thank you very much--- but Simon has stopped shrinking away and no longer looks like he's in pain, so Raphael can't bring himself to roll his eyes. It would probably make the throbbing in his temples worse, too.

"Then why else would I have a very attractive angel next to my bed?" Raphael feels like he's saying something he probably shouldn't, and the obnoxious sweater man seems to be filming him on his phone. Simon is blushing.

"Um," is Simon's eloquent response.

"Perhaps you're in the wrong room? Or is this a very good dream?" Raphael wonders out loud, something he has a feeling he doesn't do often. Simon is looking stricken again, but the sting in his eyes has been replaced by pure disbelief, so Raphael counts it as an improvement.

"I think I read somewhere once that extreme pain can induce out of body experiences and realistic fantasies. Is that what this is?" Raphael's tongue feels like cotton candy in his mouth now, and the words he's saying sound far away.

Simon snaps out of his reverie, and with a minute shake of his head, says," Uh- no. I'm, uh. I'm your boyfriend."

Raphael blinks several times in rapid succession. "Boyfriend?"

"Uh, yeah? As in, dating, together, regular Friday night dates and bi-weekly movie marathons." The sentence ends sounding like a question and Simon looks a little bit sad and a little bit scared. Raphael wants to wipe it off with a huge eraser. He wishes there was a way to banish that expression from Simon's face into bad places so he would never have to look sad again. 

Simon's face is even redder than before, and it occurs to Raphael that he may have said that out loud. The man behind him seems to be holding back laughter.

Raphael stares at Simon; he can see the slope of his shoulders and how he's biting down on his lower lip. Simon's ducking his head, making his messy hair fall into his eyes. Raphael reaches for his face with both hands and tilts his head towards Raphael.

"Are you sure?" He looks straight into Simon's eyes. They're dark brown and bloodshot, but they make Raphael's chest settle and his limbs ache less.

"Yep." Simon's small smile looks inviting, so Raphael leans forward to press his lips to it.

 _Whoa_. Raphael does it again, and sure enough--- _there it is_. Both of their lips are chapped and fingers cold, but when Raphael kisses him, the thudding in his skull becomes background noise to the thunder in his ribcage, and something jolts in his hazy consciousness.

Simon pulls back, though, and Raphael simultaneously mourns the loss of warmth and curses the return of his headache. But his mouth is stretching to yawn, and he can feel himself swaying a bit.

"You should get some rest. To get better."

Raphael protests the notion of sleeping. "But I won't get to see your pretty face if my eyes are closed."

"That's not important," Simon says, "You need---"

"It's very important." Raphael feels his eyelids betraying him, but something is flickering at the back of his mind. "You're," Raphael reaches out to pat Simon's cheek, "you're very important. And pretty. The most important and the most prettiest."

Simon's hand is on his, guiding it from his cheek to his side, and Raphael feels himself being laid down and covered with blankets as he drifts off. He thinks he hears "You are, too", but he's too soon asleep to ponder it.

* * *

Simon tucks Raphael in and can't resist planting a kiss on his forehead. He's still looking down at Raphael with the brightest smile known to man when he's interrupted by Magnus, "I'm uploading this to Youtube. It's internet gold. You two are ridiculous"

Simon rolls his eyes. "You're just bitter that he didn't notice you. And you and Alec are much worse."

"Raphael Santiago is a heartless traitor even when he's got temporary amnesia. How could he not recognize me? I've known him for nearly two decades!" Magnus shoots daggers at Raphael's sleeping form. "Ungrateful bastard."

Simon just continues smiling, holding Raphael's hand and looking far too happy for someone running purely on three hours of sleep and an unholy amount of caffeine.

"He'd want you to get some rest too," Magnus says.

"I will. In a minute." Simon does not look like he is going to be moving for any multitude of minutes, but Magnus can't bring himself to drag him away. Their silhouettes against the glowing curtains remind Magnus of the cheesy rom-coms Raphael bashes on him for liking, and Magnus is definitely making a mental note to poke fun at Raphael for it later. But for now, he leaves them be, slipping out of the room and closing the door with a soft click behind him. He heads home.

* * *

Alec's head peeks out from above the crumpled blankets when he steps into the room, ruffled black hair and a quiet, sluggish voice.

"Come to bed. I missed you." Magnus shrugs off his sweater and toes off his shoes, slipping in next to Alec as easy as breathing.

"I missed you too."

"How 's Raphael?" Alec turns to face Magnus, but his eyes are closed as he suppresses a yawn. Magnus brushes his hair from his forehead.

"Fine. Go back to sleep, my love." Magnus turns to tuck himself against Alec, and smiles when his arms pull him closer.

Alec kisses the back of his neck and settles against him, and Magnus' heart bubbles over. He suddenly feels unbelievably lucky.

"Alec, you know you're the most important and the most prettiest, right?"

Alec giggles into his hair, and Magnus falls asleep almost instantly, still smiling.

**Author's Note:**

> Here is my cringy url: http://the-bane-ofmyexistence.tumblr.com/ in case you want to scream about this godforsaken ship with me


End file.
